Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

After the match, Lin Feng, who scored the crucial goal to save the team, was regarded as a hero by Real Madrid fans.

Countless Real Madrid fans sang his praises, thanking him for once again saving the team.

Scenes like today have played out countless times since Lin Feng joined Real Madrid.

Whenever the team is clearly in trouble or even in dire straits, Lin Feng always steps up and turns the tide.

But Lin Feng, who was praised and even mythologized, was not happy at all. After beating Malaga, he was forced into this state by his opponent, which was really unacceptable.

Despite the impact of the FIFA virus, Real Madrid's strength and squad depth should not have made things so difficult.

It seems that the previous winning streak and unbeaten run of more than ten rounds have exhausted the team's vitality.

In addition to the Champions League knockout stage and national team matches, the entire team, from top to bottom, has reached its limit.

On the surface, Real Madrid has gone 15 rounds unbeaten, and has won 13 of those 15 games.

Real Madrid may seem incredibly strong, but in reality, they are already outwardly powerful but inwardly weak, and have long lost the dominance they had during their 10-game winning streak in the second half of the season.

With two months and nine matches remaining until the end of the La Liga season, this period will be a significant test for Real Madrid.

If they can't hold on and collapse before facing Barcelona, ​​then the second leg of El Clásico at the Bernabéu could very well end in a crushing defeat.

However, Barcelona's form seemed rather poor as well. In another league match that ended later, Barcelona, ​​playing away, only managed a hard-fought victory thanks to Messi's goal in stoppage time.

It seems that Barcelona has also been affected by the FIFA virus. This is not surprising, since the more luxurious the squad of a top club, the more likely it is to be infected by the FIFA virus, while ordinary teams do not have this concern.

In fact, the pressure that Real Madrid is putting on Barcelona is really immense.

With only a 5-point difference between the two teams and another direct confrontation opportunity, Barcelona has virtually no room for error.

If they lose a single match or draw a single game, this lead could be wiped out entirely.

To firmly establish their lead, they'll have to wait and see in the second El Clásico four rounds later.

If Barcelona can defeat Real Madrid away from home, they will have no worries about winning the league title and can confidently compete for the Champions League.

After entering April, the schedules for both the league and the Champions League became more congested.

Three days later, on April 8, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals kicked off.

Real Madrid and Barcelona were both unlucky, as both teams drew a schedule where they played the first leg at home and the second leg away.

If their opponents were average teams, this schedule wouldn't have a significant impact on them. However, both teams were drawn against top-tier teams, putting them at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

Therefore, in the first leg at home, both teams not only need to defeat their opponents, but also need to score as many goals as possible against them. Only by establishing a large enough lead can they ensure that they will not be eliminated in the second leg away game.

However, their opponents are Chelsea and Bayern Munich, respectively, and it's simply a pipe dream to get a goal difference against them.

"Chelsea is a very tough defensive team, which I'm sure you all know, so I won't go into too much detail."

Mourinho has very complicated feelings about his former club.

Perhaps last year, he still harbored resentment towards Chelsea and Abramovich, blaming them for their reckless player purchases that disrupted the team and ultimately led to his dismissal.

But this year, that hatred has faded considerably.

The reason is simple: last year he led Real Madrid to a double victory over Chelsea, avenged his defeat, and finally lifted the Champions League trophy. His anger had long since subsided.

This year, he was once again drawn against Chelsea in the Champions League knockout stage, which he could only lament was simply a twist of fate.

Given the strength of Real Madrid and Chelsea, if they hadn't faced each other earlier, they would have had a very good chance of advancing to the semi-finals.

But now, one team is destined to be eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Although Mourinho has a deep affection for Chelsea, the team he built from scratch, if he had to choose between the two clubs, he would prefer to lead Real Madrid to victory.

Chelsea is a thing of the past; Real Madrid is his present and future.

Apart from Robben, who is about to be released, Real Madrid has no players transferred from Chelsea, so no one felt anything special when they heard Mourinho's words.

For them, Chelsea was just a strong Premier League team, nothing more.

Considering the two teams' records last year, Real Madrid players have a psychological advantage.

Although Chelsea's defense is touted as the best in Europe, didn't they still fail to stop their attack last year?

Moreover, Chelsea's defense was trained by Mourinho himself, and now that Mourinho is on their side, their chances of winning are obviously greater.

Mourinho did not hide anything, explaining Chelsea's defensive system and the individual characteristics of each player on the field.

"In short, when playing against Chelsea, don't wait for them to set up their formation before attacking. Chelsea has two defensive stalwarts in midfield, Ballack and Essien, and in defense, there's the Terry and Alex pairing who are very good at one-on-one defense. In positional attacks, we won't gain any advantage!"

Chelsea's lineup can be summed up in one word: tough!

Ballack, Essien, Terry, and Wallace are all tough guys. Not only are they physically strong, but they are also particularly fierce on defense. This lineup looks tough to beat.

If you try to bite into it, you might break your front teeth.

Historically, even the formidable Barcelona team of the 08-09 season couldn't overcome Chelsea in the semi-finals. After being held to a draw at home, they narrowly advanced on away goals.

However, some of the referee's controversial decisions during the match sparked huge controversy afterward.

If the referee had been different, the outcome of this match might have been completely different, and perhaps Barcelona would never have achieved their six-trophy haul.

"Against Chelsea, our attack needs to bypass their strong central defense and look for opportunities on the flanks. Ashley Cole likes to push forward and attack, so we need to take advantage of that and resolutely attack behind him. Lin, in this game, you need to be more active on the right wing and use your speed to break through his defense!"

Lin Feng nodded. Ashley Cole, relying on his excellent speed and strong ability to run back and forth, was very aggressive in attack, often pushing forward to provide support for his teammates on the flanks.

Therefore, opportunities are indeed more likely to arise on his side, and if used well, they may have a surprising effect.

"The opponent's striker has extremely good physical strength and playmaking ability. When defending against him, first of all, you can't be soft, you have to be tough and make him uncomfortable. Secondly, you have to pay attention to protecting the high balls and not give him the opportunity to set up the ball!" Drogba was promoted by Mourinho. In his early years at Chelsea, Drogba could not score goals. His role on the field was to set up the ball for his teammates.

At the time, the British media criticized Drogba, believing that Chelsea had bought a flop who couldn't shoot.

However, Mourinho launched a scathing attack on the media outlets and journalists who wrote the report, accusing them of being ignorant about football and asserting that Drogba's tactical value at Chelsea was irreplaceable.

Later, through diligent practice, Drogba improved his shooting skills and goal-scoring ability, finally shedding the label of being unable to score. However, his playmaking ability did not decline as a result; on the contrary, it was further enhanced.

Lampard is jokingly referred to by fans as Chelsea's true striker not only because of his strong scoring ability, but also because of the presence of Drogba in the forward line.

With Drogba protecting him in the attacking third, creating space and supplying him with shots, Lampard's forward runs and shots became much easier, resulting in more goals.

However, this tactic won't work if Drogba isn't on the field, and Lampard's goal-scoring efficiency will also decrease.

This also explains why Shevchenko, whom Abramovich bought from AC Milan at a high price, has not performed well at Chelsea. It's not that Shevchenko is not capable, but that he cannot integrate into Chelsea's tactical system and cannot replace Drogba's tactical value.

Real Madrid, playing at home, cannot afford to concede a goal, and away goals are extremely crucial; conceding any goal will significantly lower their chances of advancing.

To avoid conceding a goal, it is essential to limit Drogba's performance.

As for his former favorite player Lampard, Mourinho thought it over carefully and decided not to target him.

It's not that Lampard isn't strong; in fact, he is very strong.

But the best way to limit Lampard is not to limit him, but to limit his teammates.

Lampard's strength requires his teammates to support him; without them, his threat level drops dramatically.

However, one thing to note is that in the midst of a scramble, it is important to protect the crucial area at the edge of the penalty arc, as this is where Lampard most often takes his shot.

Playing at home, Real Madrid is spared the hassle of traveling to away games and can focus on preparing for the match while waiting for their opponents to come to their doorstep.

But Chelsea had no choice but to set off immediately for Madrid after finishing their Premier League match.

There are quite a few teams in Madrid, but Atletico Madrid is the one with the worst relationship with Real Madrid.

Holding the belief that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Atletico Madrid warmly welcomed Chelsea's visit and even offered advice and shared intelligence to help them deal with Real Madrid.

Of course, Atletico Madrid also hopes to learn from defensively strong teams like Chelsea and how to improve their own defense.

At this time, Atletico Madrid was not the same Atletico Madrid with a tough defense that Simeone had taken over. Although they had top strikers like Aguero and Forlán, their defense was rather abstract.

So far this season, Atletico Madrid has conceded 51 goals in 29 league matches, averaging 1.76 goals conceded per game, ranking second in La Liga in terms of goals conceded, second only to Sporting Gijón, who are struggling in the relegation zone.

Although Atletico Madrid's attacking firepower is second only to Barcelona and Real Madrid, conceding so many goals is really unsustainable.

If they had conceded fewer penalties, they might have won many of the games they should have won, such as the last round when Atletico Madrid lost 2-4 to Osasuna at home.

Is Osasuna a very strong team?
Not!
They are struggling in the relegation zone, just like Sporting Gijón!
Atletico Madrid lost simply because their defense was terrible.

The striker fought tooth and nail to score a goal, but when he looked back, he saw that his own defense had already conceded two goals.

Your defense is like a broken sieve; if you don't lose, who will?

Chelsea doesn't have any magic tricks up their sleeve. To improve the team's defensive capabilities, there are essentially two methods:

1. Buy good players!
2. Hire a coach who is good at defense!

They initially improved the team's defensive capabilities by increasing investment and hiring a top defensive coach like Mourinho.

The suggestion from Chelsea has given Atletico Madrid pause for thought.

Atletico Madrid's squad over the years has been quite impressive, ranking among the top in La Liga in terms of both theoretical strength and investment.

While they can't compare to the giants like Barcelona and Real Madrid, they have an advantage over other teams.

However, the team's performance was not satisfactory, and it seems that the problem lies with the coach.

Atletico Madrid's current manager, Manzano, attracted the club's attention due to his success at Mallorca, but in his five seasons in charge, his performance has fallen far short of the club's expectations.

It seems that if they want to rise again, they need to find a better coach to lead the team.

But are good coaches in the market so easy to hire?
Coaches of Mourinho's caliber are highly sought after by top clubs, so why would they possibly coach a team like theirs?

And even Mourinho was outshone by Guardiola, wasn't he?

Thinking of Guardiola, Atletico Madrid fans suddenly had a brilliant idea:

If Barcelona can select talent from its own retired players to come back and coach, why can't Atletico Madrid do the same?
With this in mind, Atletico Madrid's management immediately sent people to look up information to see which Atletico Madrid players had transitioned into coaching after retiring.

And believe it or not, they actually found one for them.

Diego Simeone, the Atlético Madrid legend who retired a few years ago, is currently coaching Argentine powerhouse River Plate, and led the team to victory in the Argentine Apertura last year.

Although the Argentine Primera División is not as influential as the top five European leagues, it is still considered a very influential league in South America.

Moreover, River Plate has a renowned reputation, and the fact that Simeone was able to coach such a prestigious club and achieve success proves that he truly has the talent to coach.

Thinking of this, Atletico Madrid's management could no longer sit still and immediately sent someone to contact Simeone and invite him back to the Calderon Stadium.

Coincidentally, after completing his training in the Argentine Primera División, Simeone was contemplating how to move beyond the Primera División and into a higher level of competition.

During his time playing abroad, Simeone played for several teams in La Liga and Serie A, and has established connections in both leagues.

So he was trying to use his connections to see if any La Liga or Serie A teams needed to change managers, but he didn't expect to receive an invitation from his former club, Atletico Madrid.

"Returning to Calderon to coach? That doesn't seem like a bad thing!" (End of Chapter)